Louis de Grandpre

Louis de Grandpre (1320-1387) was a member of the Hashshashin Brotherhood in France since his initiation in 1337. He was responsible for many murders during the Hundred Years' War, which was provoked by the Knights Templar. He was an ancestor of Aveline de Grandpre.

Biography
Grandpre was from central France, and joined the Poitou Assassins Order at the age of thirteen. He was educated by Reginald Sibrand, who taught him about the hidden blade, patience, stealth, combat, and the story of the Knights Templar and the Assassins in their rivalry. In 1336, Grandpre was informed of a Templar conspiracy that traced back to Friday 13th's massacre of 1309, and was sent to Etampes to kill Charles d'Evreux, a French Templar nobleman who was allegedly part of the conspiracy. He managed to kill him in his royal manor, but could not prevent the plot in England from succeeding. A nobleman sent an offensive letter to the king of France under the guise of the King of England, triggering the Hundred Years War.

In 1337, a year later, William de Hainaut allied with England in Zeeland, so Grandpre was sent to convince him to end the alliance and warn him of the Templar plot. When he refused, Grandpre killed the Duke, and ended England's alliance with the Flemish. It seemed that the plot was coming to a close, but in 1340 at the Battle of Sluys Grandpre failed to kill Edward III of England and the English invaded France in 1346. Grandpre headed to England aboard a Venetian merchant ship in order to find out about the plot there, and when he infiltrated Westminster Castle, he found out that the man who wrote the letter was one Sir John Chandos, and he narrowly escaped the guards and to the harbor.

The cross-channel invasion by the English went poorly for the French, and Grandpre fought at the decisive Battle of Crecy, where Chandos and other English nobles and a malnutritious army met a larger French force. He very nearly succeeded in killing Chandos. Grandpre fired an arrow at Chandos, but it hit his eye and he survived the shot. When he was about to fit another arrow, the French started to retreat from the losing battle. Edward the Black Prince saved Chandos from the French knights, and Grandpre missed his chance.

In 1347 an enraged Grandpre attempted to track down the English. He succeeded in slaying John Darcy de Knayth, and English noble who informed the English people of the victory at Crecy a year before, but he came face-to-face with the Black Prince. He tried to shoot him but his Knights of the Garter amulet, which was a Piece of Eden, sent the arrow flying back to him. The arrow nearly pierced his armor, and he was believed to be dead. The Black Prince had him thrown into a river, but he awoke with the cold water.

Grandpre attempted to again kill the Black Prince when he had the chance at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356, but he failed because of the Captal de Buch's intervention. Grandpre was about to be slain by the Black Prince when the Captal vouched for him, impressed by his bravery. Grandpre was told to inform his masters that he had been defeated by the Templars, but Grandpre threw a knife at the Black Prince's shoulder and fled.

In the 1360s Grandpre attempted to find out the key members of the Templar plot: he knew that the Black Prince had to die, as he was the leading figure in the conspiracy. However, the respected gentleman Chandos' victory at the Battle of Auray in 1364 led to his inclusion on the hit list. Grandpre executed this list in 1369. Under the disguise of a French squire he killed Chandos in a skirmish, and Chandos revealed that he only followed the Templars because his master the Black Prince did. He died in Grandpre's arms, and Grandpre told him that he redeemed himself.

Grandpre headed to London in 1376, as the Black Death was spreading through France and Western Europe. Luckily, he managed to find out that Edward the Black Prince was holed up in Westminster Palace, fearing that he would catch the plague. Grandpre headed into the palace and found Edward in his bed, sick. The prince attempted to get up, but before he could, Grandpre stabbed him in the chest with his hidden blade. Edward, bleeding to death, told him that it was inconcievable for an assassin to slay the Prince of Wales and "England's best knight", and he stabbed Grandpre with a knife. Grandpre, wounded, buried his left hand's blade into Edward as well, killing him.

King Edward made peace with France soon after, and died a year later than his son. Louis returned home, and although he knew that the war would continue on, he was content in knowing that he had ended it for a few years along with its founders. Grandpre himself returned home and died in Poitou near the grave of John Chandos.